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Sciences 

Corporation 


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73  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  MS80 

(716)  872-4503 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


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n 

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Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 

Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommagde 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurde  et/ou  pellicul6e 

Cover  title  missing/ 

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D 
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10X  14X  18X  22X 

I  I  I  I  I  I  I  I  I  I  M  |y| 


26X 


30X 


12X 


16X 


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24X 


28X 


32X 


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to  the  generosity  of: 

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L'exemplaire  film6  fut  reprodiMt  grSce  d  la 
g6n6rosit6  de: 

Bibliothdque  nationale  du  Canada 


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first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  "7  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  6t6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin.  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
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filmage. 

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d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ".  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 


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different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
film6s  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdrents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  §tre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  ciich6,  il  est  f  ilmd  d  partir 
de  Tangle  supdrieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  ndcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


1 

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1 

2 

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'  -.WITH. 


PROFESSOR  JOHN    t-AMOUKTAm. 


PHfUOOPHIA; 

Ii9«  youth  "Phlrtf  ^tTMi.''^ 
187^ 


'<■  '■■ '  ■ 


yiiiii  pill 


H  *.■'*•"..   <   V 


Mfi.  HADDOCK'S  tiARr^ATlVE 


OK   lilS 


HAZARDOUS  AND  EXCITING 


IN    THE 


1^11®®!  4tMii'a(0^ 


WITH 


PROF.   JNO.   LaMOUNTAIN 


CABEPULIiY   REVISED, 
WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS  BY  SCATTEBQOOD. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PRESS  OF  HADDOCK  &  SON,   108  South  Third  Street. 

1872. 


The   ovvrer  nnd  adiress  of  th«  original   copy: 

Mr.   irik  nilcles-riHun, 
128  Rowland  -oad, 
FAinl-'lLLD,   Conn. 


h' 


ou 


"     ; 


1 


OEXPLA.NA'TORY.O 


It  is  now  about  thirteen  years  since  the  undersigned  made  tlie 
memorable  balloon  voyage  with  Professor  Jno.  LaMountain— a 
voyage  intended  to  be  short  and  pleasant,  but  which  resulted  in  a 
long  and  most  disastrous  one,  entailing  the  loss  of  the  valuable  bal- 
loon, and  seriously  endangering  the  lives  of  the  travelers.  Since 
then,  LaMountain,  after  serving  through  the  Great  Rebellion,  has 
made  his  last  "  voyage,"  and  has  entered  upon  that  existence  where 
all  the  secrets  of  the  pathless  skies  arc  as  well  defined  and  under- 
stood as  are  the  course  of  rivers  with  us  here. 

Within  the  past  two  or  three  years  I  have  often  been  requested 
to  re-publish  my  account  of  that  celebrated  trip,  and  have  at  last 
consented  to  do  so,  in  order  to  afford  my  friends  and  the  public  an 
opportunity  of  perusing  it,  and  to  enable  them  to  comprehend  how 
a  man  apparently  sensible  as  regards  business  affairs  and  every-day 
life,  may  sometimes  do  a  foolish  thing  that  will  seriously  affect  his 
business  prospects,  and  cause  great  and  unnecessary  di-stress  to  his 
friends.  For  now,  as  I  look  back  upon  the  events  I  am  about  to 
relate,  I  can  but  regard  my  balloon  voyage  as  almost  impiously 
hazardous  and  foolish,  and  meriting  censure  rather  than  commend- 
ation. 

Yet  to  fully  understand  my  reasons  for  making  the  trip,  some 
leading  facts  should  be  presented 

I.  There  had  been,  as  the  public  will  rern-mber,  all  through 
the  year  1859,  much  excitement  in  the  public  mind  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  ballooning.  In  August  of  that  year  I  returned  from  Labrador, 
and  found  that  the  balloon  Atlantic,  with  Wise,  Hyde,  Geagek  and 
LaMountain,  had  been  driven  across  a  part  of  Lake  Ontario,  while 
on  their  great  trip  from  St.  Louis  to  New  York  city,  and  had  landed 
and  been  wrecked  in  Jefferson  county,  N.  Y.,  (where  I  was  the  edi- 
tor of  a  newspaper,)  and  the  people  of  that  whole  section  were  as  a 
(3) 


Iv 


EXri.ANATOKV. 


consequence,  in  n  state  of  considerable    xcilemenl  upon  tlie  subject 
of  navi^atint;  the  air.* 

2.  1  had  heard  of  other  newspaprr  editors  making  trips  in  bal- 
loons, had  read  their  i,do\vin|,'  accounts,  and  it  seemed  to  me  like  a 
veiy  cunnin;^'  thin^'.  Desiring  to  enjoy  "  all  that  was  a-goin-,"  I 
naturally  wantid  a  balloon-ride,  too  !  and  therefore  concluded  to  140, 
expecting  not  to  be  absent  from  home  more  than  10  or  12  hours  at 
the  longest,  and  to  have  a  good  time.  The  reader  will  learn,  as 
he  reads  the  narrative,  just  how  good  a  time  I  did  have,  and  just 
how  much  I  enjoyeil  it.  In  addition,  being  a  newspaper  man,  and 
always  on  the  alert  for  news,  I  had  a  natural  desire  to  do  all  in  my 
power  to  add  to  the  local  interest  of  my  journal,  and  for  that  reason 
felt  a  willingness  to  go  through  with  more  fatigue  ami  hazard  than 
men  are  expected  to  endure  in  ordinary  business  pursuits. 

3.  I  felt  safe  in  going,  as  I  knew  that  LaMount.mn  was  an  in- 
trepid and  successful  aeronaut,  and  I  thought  his  judgment  was  to 
be  depended  upon.  How  completely  he  was  ndsled  as  to  distance, 
and  how  little  he  knew,  or  any  man  can  know,  of  air-navigation,  the 
narrative  will  readily  demonstrate. 

With  these  explanations  I  will  proceed  with  my  original  nar- 
rative, nearly  as  written  out  at  the  time— the  sense  not  being  mate- 
rially changed,  though  the  wording  may  be  somewhat  modified. 

JOHN  A.  HADDOCK, 
Of  Haddock.  &  Son,  Publishers  and  Job  Printers, 

108  Noath  Third  St.,  Pbiluda. 


»  The  Wise  named  above  is  the  celel."rat>.il  .I'.ronaut,  riofcssor  John  Wisk,  of 
I^ancaster,  Pa. ;  and  I  m.-iy  here  rem.irk  lluU  the  irip  made  l)y  liim  and  his  associates  is 
by  far  the  longe-t  en  rLxoid.  Leaving;  St.  Louis  at  about  4  P.  M.,  they  passed  the 
whole  niyht  in  tlie  air,  were  carried  across  the  St.ntcs  of  lUinois,  Indiana,  a  portion  of 
Ohio  and  Micliit^an,  over  the  whole  northwestern  breadth  of  Penn>ylvania  and  New 
York,  and  were  at  last  w.  jcked  in  a  hu{;e  tree-top  near  the  shore  of  Lake  ( )ntari;),  at  about 
■\  P.  M.  the  next  day,  escajiini;  with  severe  bruises  but  without  broken  bones,  after  a 
journey  of  at  least  eleven  hundred  miles.  Th  se  adventurers  did  not  travel  as  fast,  nor 
encounter  the  perils  th.at  awaited  us,  but  they  made  a  lontjer  voyaf;e.  It  was  with  this 
same  balloon  Atlantic  that  LaMuuntain  and  myself  m.ade  our  trip;  but  it  had  been 
reduced  one-third  in  size,  and  was  in  thorough  repair— indeed  as  good  as  new. 


THE    ASCENSION. 


s 


From  th*  Wittrtown  (N.  Y  )  Rtformar.  Eitf«,  of  Octobor  5.  1859. 

MR.  HADDOCK'S  ACCOUNT. 


300  WILES  IN  FOUR  HOURS  1 

They  Land  in  the  Great  Canada 'Wilderness. 

ATLAHTIC  ABAHDOBP. 


PROVIDENTIAL    DELIVERANCE. 


Nearly  every  one  in  this  locality  [WateRTown,  N.  Y.]  is  aware  that  the  second 
ascension  of  the  Balloon  Atlantic  was  advertised  for  the  20th  of  September.  The  storm 
of  that  and  the  following  day  obliged  the  postponement  of  the  Ascension  until  the  22d 
(Thursday).  Every  arrangement  had  been  made  for  a  successful  inflation,  and  at  27 
minutes  before  6  p.  m.,  the  glad  words  "all  aboard  "  were  heard  from  LaMountain,  and 
that  distinguished  aeronaut  and  myself  stepped  into  the  car.  Many  were  the  friendly 
hands  we  shook— many  a  fervent  "God  bless  you,"  and  "happy  voyage,"  were  uttered— 
and  many  handkerchiefs  waived  their  mute  adieus.  "  Let  go  all,"  and  away  we  soared  ; 
the  horses  on  the  square  "reared  and  pitched"  a  good  deal  at  the  novel  sight,  lut  in  an 
in.5tant  all  minor  sounds  of  earth  had  cexsed,  and  we  were  lifted  into  a  silent  sphere, 
whose  shores  were  without  an  echo,  their  silence  equaled  only  by  that  of  the  grave. 
Not  the  least  feeling  cf  trepidation  w.is  experienced  ;  an  extraoadinary  ehition  took  pos- 
session of  my  soul,  and  fear  was  as  far  removed  as  though  I  had  been  sitting  in  my  own 

room  at  home.  , .    j      r  u  ir 

Two  or  three  things  struck  me  as  peculiar  in  looking  down  from  an  altitude  of  half 
a  mile :  the  small  appearance  of  our  village  from  such  a  height,  and  the  beautiful  me- 
chanical  look  which  the  straight  fences  and  oblong-square  fields  of  the  farmers  present. 
The  buildings  in  the  Milage  do  not,  from  such  a  height,  appear  to  cover  a  tenth  part  of 
the  ground.  Our  poor  old  courthouse  looked  like  a  pepper-box  standing  on  a  ten-acre 
lot,  and  the  lallest  church  spire  barely  equaled  in  size  a  respectable  May  pole. 

As  we  rose  into  the  light  fleecy  clouds,  they  looked  between  us  and  the  earth  like 
patches  of  snow  we  see  lying  upon  the  landscape  in  Spring  time;  but  when  we  rose  a 


'1 


THE   THERMOMETER   CLOSELY   WATCHED — GETTING   COLD. 


liltic  higher  the  ch)U(ls  completely  shut  out  the  earth,  ami  the  cold  white  masses  below 
us  had  |)recisely  the  same  look  that  a  mountainous  snow  covereil  country  does,  as  you 
look  down  upon  it  from  a  hit;lier  mountain.     Those  who  have  crossed  the  .Mps — or  have 
Stood  ujion  one  of  the  lofty  summits  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  an<l  gazed  doMn  upon  tlu 
eternal  snows  below  and  around  them,  will  be  able  to  catch  the  idea  I  am  tryini;  to  cun- 
vey.     In  six  minutes  we  were  far  above  all  the  clouds,  and  the  sun  and  we  were  iace  to 
face.     \Vc  s.iw  the  time  after  that  when  his  face  looked  very  fair  ;o  us.     In  eij;ht  min 
Utes  after  leaving  the  earth,  the  thermometer  showed  a  fall  of  24  degrees.      It  stood  at  S4 
when  we  left.     The  balloon  rotate<l  a  good  deal,  proving  that  we  were  ascending  with 
great  ra.  idity.     At  5:48  thermometer  stooi'  at  42,  and  falling  very  fast.     At  5:50  \vc  were 
ot  least  two  miles  high — thernKmieter  34.     At  this  point  a  suggestion  m.vle  by  a  fiicnd 
just  before  starting,  w.as  found  to  be  a  very  good  one.     lie  had  advised  the  taking  along 
of  some  cotton,  with  which  to  fdl  the  ears  when  at  great  heights,  and  my  father  had  pro- 
cured nie  some.     The  unpleasant  ringing  sensation  had  now  become  painful,  and  1  tilled 
both  ears  with  cotton.     This  made  my  head  feel  a  good  deal  as  a  very  large  hollow 
pumpkin  may  be  supposed  to,  with  a  humming  bird  buz/.ing  u|>on  its  surface — a  compar- 
ison with  which,  douinless,  many  who  read  this  account  will  hardly  ((uarrel.     At  5:52  we 
put  <m  our  gloves  and  shawls— thermometer  32.     The  wet  sand  bags  now  became  stiff 
with  cold — ihcy  were  frozen.     Ascending  very  rapidly.     At  5:54  thermometer  ^S,  and 
fi\lling.      Here  we  caught  our  last  sight  of  the  earth  by  daylight.      I  recogni/cd  the  St. 
Lawrence  to  the  s<nith-\vest  of  us,  which  showed  we  were  drifting  nearly  north.     A{  0 
o'clock  we  thought  we  were  descending  a  little,  and  I.a.Mountain  directed  me  to  throw 
out  about  20  pounds  of  ball.ist.     This  shot  us   up  .again— thermometer   26,  and    f.illing 
very  slowly.     At  6:05  thermometer  22— my  feet  were  very  cold.     The  .\tlantic  was  now 
full,  and   presented  a  most  splendid   sight.     The  gas  beg.in  to  discharge   itself  at   the 
moiil'i,  and  its  abominable  smell,  as  it  came  down  upon  us,  made  me  sick.      .\  moment's 
Vonutin;pnade  me  feel  all  right  again.      I.aMounlain   w.as   suffering   a   good   Ac  \\    wlih 
cold.      I  passed  my  thick  shawl  around  his  shoulders,  .and  jnit  the  blanket  over  oin  knees 
and  feci.     At  6:io  thermomeier  18.     We  <lrifted  along  until  the  sun   left  us,  ami   in  a 
short  time  thereafter  the  balloon  began  to  descend.     At   6:30  thermometer   22,  ti  i;i;-;. 
Threw  over  about  5  lbs.  b.allast.      We  must  have  been,  before  we  began  to  descend  Iroui 
this   height,   3'i    miles  high.      At  6:32   thermometer  23,  rising.     We  were  now  .d)ou! 
stationary,  and  thought  we  were  sailing  north  of  east.      We  could,  we  thou;;hl,  distii;guisli 
water  below  us,  but  were  un.ible  to  recogiii/e  it.      At  6:38  we  thnw  over   a  bag  ol  sand, 
.nakin:;  So  pounds  of  ballast  disciiarged,  and  leaving  about  120   jiounds   on   haml.     \\  c 
disiiniily  I.eard  a  dog  bark.     Thermometer  28— and  rising  rapidly.      At  6:45  the  tlier 
momclcr  stood  .at  33. 

At  (>;50  it  was  <lark,  and  I  could  make  no  more  memoranda.  I  put  up  my  note  book, 
pencil  and  watch,  and  settled  down  into  the  Iwsket,  feeling  (juite  contented.  Kron»  this 
point  until  next  morning  I  give  my  experiences  from  memory  only.  The  figures  given 
were  made  at  the  times  indicated,  and  the  ihcrmometric  variations  can  be  depeiulcd  upon 
as  quite  accurate. 

We  he.ard,  soon  after  dark,  a  locomotive  whistle,  and  occasion  dly  could  hear  ^vagor.s 
rumbling  over  the  ground  or  a  bridge,  while  the  larmers'  do-s  kept  U])  a  continued  hay 
ing,  as  if  conscious  there  was  something  mor  irons  anil  unusual  in  the  sky.  We  saded 
along,  contented  and  chatty,  until  about  half-past  8  o'clock,  when  we  distinctly  saw  lights 
below  us,  and  heard  ih.- roaring  of  a  mighty  -.vater-fall.  We  descended  into  a  valley 
rear  a  very  high  mountain,  but  as  the  pkice  appe.arcd  rather  forbidding,  we  concludcil  t<« 


"1 


RODE   FAR    ENOUGH— TIED   TO   A    TKEE-TOP,  J 

go  up  again.  Over  with  30  lbs.  of  ballast,  and  skyw.nrd  we  sailed.  In  alx)ut  20  mifi- 
iites  we  again  descended,  but  this  time  no  friendly  lights  nor  •'  deep-mouthed  watchdogs' 
heavy  bay  "  greeted  us.  We  seemed  to  be  over  a  dense  wilderness,  and  the  balloon  was 
settling  down  just  into  a  small  lake.  We  had  our  life-preservers  ready  for  use,  but  got 
up  again  by  throwing  out  all  our  ballast  except  perhaps  30  pounds.  LaMduntain  now 
declared  it  was  folly  to  stay  up  any  longer,  that  we  were  over  a  great  wiUlcrness,  and 
the  sooner  we  descended  the  better.  We  concluded  to  settle  down  by  the  side  of  some 
tall  tree,  tie  up,  and  w.ait  until  morning.  In  a  moment  we  were  near  the  earth,  and  ps 
we  gently  descended  I  grasped  the  extreme  top  of  a  high  spruce,  which  stopped  the  bal- 
loon's momentum,  and  we  were  soon  lashed  to  the  tree  by  our  large  drag-rope. 


i 


After  peering  around  and  mnking  as  much  c'  an  cxr'.tnin;-itit]n  of  our  surroundings  as 
the  darkness  would  permit,  L  iMountain  said  he  feared  his  balloon  was  played  out ;  that 
we  were  evidently  far  into  the  woods,  and  if  we  got  out  ourselves  we  ought  to  be  verj* 
thankful.  This  prediction  proved  to  be  far  nearer  the  truth  than  even  the  Professor  sup- 
]K)sed. 

Wc  rollf  '1  ourselves  up  in  our  blankets,  patiently  waiting  for  the  morning.  The  cold 
rain  spouted  down  upon  us  in  rivulets  from  tb.e  great  balloon  that  lazily  rolled  from  side 
to  side  alxive  our  heads,  and  we  were  soon  drenclicd  and  uncomfortable  as  men  could 
lie.  After  a  night  passed  in  great  apprehension  and  unrest,  we  were  right  glad  to  see  the 
first  f.\int  rays  of  coming  light.  Cold  and  rainy  the  morning  at  last  broke,  the  typical 
precursor,  we  were  to  learn,  of  other  dismal  mornings  to  be  spent  in  those  uninhabited 
wilds.  We  waited  until  6  o'clock,  in  hopes  the  rain  would  cease,  and  that  the  rays  o"" 
t'le  sun,  by  warming  and  thereby  expanding  the  gas  in  the  balloon,  would  give  us  a- 
ceriding  power  sufficient  to  get  up  again,  for  the  purpose  (if  no  other)  of  obtaining  a  view 
I  if  the  country  into  which  we  had  descended.   The  rain  did  not  cease,  and  we  concluded 


8      ASCEND  THE  SECOND  TIME — DESCEND— BALLOON  ABANDONED. 


to  throw  over  all  we  had  in  the  balloon,  except  a  coat  for  each,  the  life  preservers,  the 
anchor  and  the  compass.  Oveiboard,  then,  they  went — good  shawls  and  blankets,  bot- 
tles of  ale  and  a  flask  of  cordial,  ropes  and  traps  of  all  kinds.  The  Atlantic,  relieved 
of  this  wet  load,  rose  majestically  with  us,  and  we  were  able  to  behold  the  country  be- 
low. It  was  an  unbroken  wilderness  of  lakes  and  spruce — and  I  began  then  to  fully  re- 
alize that  we  had  indeed  gone  too  far,  through  a  miscalculation  of  the  velocity  of  the 
l)rilloon.  As  the  current  was  still  driving  us  towards  the  north,  we  dare  not  stay  up,  as 
we  were  drifting  still  farther  and  farther  into  trouble.  LaMountain  seized  the  valve- cord 
and  discharged  gas,  anc.  lescended  in  safety  to  the  solid  earth.  Making  the  Atlantic 
fast  by  her  anchor,  we  considered  what  was  to  be  done. 

We  had  not  a  mouthful  to  eat,  no  protection  at  night  from  the  damp  ground,  were  dis- 
tant we  knew  not  how  far  from  any  habitation,  were  hungry  to  start  with,  had  no  possible 
expectation  of  raising  a  fire,  and  no  definite  or  satisfactory  idea  as  to  where  we  were. 
We  had  not  even  «t  respectable  pocket  knife,  not  a  pin  to  make  a  fish-hook  of — indeed 
were  about  as  well  equiped  for  forest  life  as  the  babes  in  the  woods  were. 

After  a  protracted  discussion,  in  which  all  our  ingenuity  was  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
question  of  our  whereabouts,  we  settled  in  our  minds  (mainly  from  the  character  of  the 
timber  around  us)  that  we  were  either  in  John  Brown's  tract*,  or  in  that  wilderness  ly- 
ing between  Ottawa  City  and  Prescot,  Canada.  If  this  were  so,  th«:n  we  knew  that  a 
course  south  by  east  would  take  us  out  if  we  had  strength  enough  to  trr.vel  the  distance. 


TRAMPING  IN  THE  WOODS. 
Acting  upon  our  conclusion  we  started  through  the  woods  towards  the  south-east.   After 
traveling  about  a  mile  we  came  to  the  bank  of  a  small  stream  flowing  from  the  west,  and 
were  agreeably  surprised  to  find  that  some  human  being  had  been  there  before  us,  for  we 

•John  Brown's  Tract  la  a  well-known  Motion  of  the  State  of  Kew  Tork,  extending  itlong  the  north- 
•Mtarn  border,  end  containing  over  4,000  eqnare  miles.  The  land  Is  poor  and  c>>ld ;  the  timber  spruce, 
pin*  and  tiemlork  to  a  great  extont  aad  with  many  imall  lake*  and  several  large  rirers.  The  Hudson 
riae*  In  John  Browu's  Tract. 


1 


MESS    PORK,    DUT   NOT   A    MESS   OF   PORK — WANHERINdS.  9 

found  the  stumps  of  several  small  trees  and  the  head  of  a  half-barrel  which  had  contained 
pork.     I  eagerly  examined  the  inspection  stamp.     It  read — 

"MESS  PORK." 
1'.  M." 
"  Montreal." 
This  settled  the  question  that  we  were  in  Canada,  as  I  very  well  knew  that  no  Mon- 
treal inspection  of  f>ork  ever  found  its  way  into  the  State  of  New  Yotk.     Although  the 
course  we  had  adopted  was  to  be  a  south-easterly  one,  we  yet  concluded  to  f()lU>w  this 
creek  to  the  westward,  and  all  day  Friday  we  traveled  up  its  banks — crossing  it  aliout 


'; 


^15^  ^^j;?^.^^:,^ 


noon  on  a  floating  log,  and  striking,  on  the  southern  shore,  a  "  blazed  "  path,  wliich  led 
us  to  a  deserted  lumber  road,  and  it  in  turn  bringing  us  to  a  log  shanty  on  tlie  (ijipositc 
bank.  We  had  hoped  this  lumber  road  would  lead  us  out  into  a  clearing  or  a  settle- 
ment, but  a  careful  examination  satisfied  us  that  the  road  ended  here,  its  objective  point 
evidently  being  the  shanty  on  the  other  bank.  We  concluded  to  cross  the  creek  to  the 
shanty,  and  stay  there  all  night.  Collecting  some  small  timlicrs  for  a  raft,  I.aMountain 
crossed  over  safely,  shoving  the  raft  back  to  me.  But  my  weight  was  greater  tlian  my 
companion's,  and  the  frail  structure  sank  under  me,  precipitating  me  into  the  water.  I 
went  in  all  over,  but  swam  out,  though  it  took  all  my  strength  to  do  so.  On  reaching 
the  bank  I  found  myself  so  chilled  as  scarcely  to  be  able  to  stand.  I  took  olT  all  my 
clothes  and  wrung  them  as  diy  as  I  could.  We  then  proceeded  to  the  shnnty,  where  \vc 
found  some  refuse  str.iw,  but  it  was  dry,  and  under  a  pile  of  it  we  cr:nvled — fiuUiiic;  it 
over  our  heads  and  faces,  in  the  hope  that  our  breath  might  aid  in  warming  our  cliilled 
bodies.  I  think  the  most  revengeful,  stony  heart  would  have  pitied  our  condition  then. 
I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  our  thoughts  as  we  lay  there  ;  home,  chihlren,  wife,  pa- 
rents, friends,  with  their  sad  and  anxious  faces,  rose  up  reproachfully  before  us  as  we 


10 


NEW  COUNCIL  AND  THE  ROUTE  CHANGED— FROGS. 


tried  to  sleep.  But  the  weary  houn  of  night  Kt  last  wore  away,  and  at  daylight  we  held 
a  new  council.  It  was  evident,  we  argued,  that  the  creek  we  were  upon  was  used  by 
the  lumbermen  for  "  driving  "  their  logs  in  the  Spring  freshets.  If,  then,  we  followed  it 
to  its  confluence  with  the  Ottawa  or  some  stream  which  emptied  into  the  Ottawa,  we 
would  eventually  get  out  the  same  way  the  timber  went  out.  The  roof  of  the  shanty  we 
were  in  was  covered  with  the  halves  of  hollow  logs,  scooped  out  in  a  manner  familiar  to 
nil  woodsmen.  These  were  dry  and  light,  and  would  make  us  an  excellent  raft.  Why 
nnt,  then,  take  four  of  these,  tie  them  to  cross-pieces  by  wythes  and  such  old  things  as 
we  could  find  around  the  shanty,  and  pole  the  craft  down  stream  to  that  civilization  which 
even  a  sawlog  appeared  able  to  reach.  Such,  then,  was  the  plan  adopted,  although  it 
involved  the  retracing  of  all  the  steps  hitherto  taken,  and  an  apparent  departure  from  the 
course  we  had  concluded  would  lead  us  out.  Although  we  were  providentially  saved  at 
last  by  this  new  plan  of  travel,  I  have  always  believed  that  we  would  have  been  more 
certain  to  have  reached  a  settlement,  had  we  keot  to  the  southward  as  we  originally  pro- 
posed, though  our  strength  might  have  failed  u.  before  we  could  have  traveled  out. 

V.  ithout  delay,  then,  we  dragged  the  hollow  logs  down  to  the  creek,  and  LaMountain 
proceeded  to  tie  them  together,  as  he  was  evidently  more  of  a  sailor  than  myself.  We 
at  last  got  under  way,  and,  as  we  pushed  off,  a  miserable  crow  set  up  a  dismal  cawing — 
an  inauspicious  sign,  ominous  (we  feared)  of  continued  trials  in  store  for  us.  We  poled 
down  the  stream  about  a  mile,  when  we  come  abruptly  upon  a  large  pine  tree  which  had 
fallen  across  the  current,  completely  blocking  the  passage  of  the  raft.  No  other  course 
was  left  us  but  to  untie  the  raft,  and  push  the  pieces  through  under  the  log.  This  was 
at  last  accomplished,  when  we  tied  our  craft  together  again,  and  poled  down  the  stream. 


To-day  each  of  us  ate  a  raw  frc^,  (all  we  could  find),  and  began  to  realize  that  we  were 
aiUNGRY.    Yet  there  was  no  complaining— our  talk  was  of  the  hopeful  future,  and  of 


I 


ll 


f? 


I'OI.INii    TIIK    RAIT    ALL    NK.IIT — TKorill.I':    INDKEI), 


1  1 


i) 


■II 


thf  home  ami  civilisation  we  yet  exprcted  to  reach.  Down  tlu-  crvik  wc  w cut,  into  a 
lake  '-onie  4  tniU-s  lon^,  an<l  into  wliiili  wo  of  course  suji|iii>iil  tlu'  -ln'.  ii)  to  )ii->,  wilh 
Its  outlet  at  the  lower  enil.  We  followeil  tlown  tlic  niirtlii.'iii  li.mK,  Kiopinj;  always  near 
the  slioie  anil  in  shallow  water,  so  that  our  juiles  coulil  touch  the  luitidni,  until  we  reached 
the  lower  lAireinily  of  the  lake,  where  we  found  no  outkt,  and  so  turnecl  luck  upon  thi- 
soulhern  shore  in  (juest  of  one.  On  n  aching,'  the  heail  of  the  lake,  and  exaniiniiii;  the 
stream  attentively,  we  found  that  the  current  of  the  creek  turned  aliru[>tly  to  the  ri;;iit, 
which  was  the  reason  of  our  losing  it,  We  felt  happy  to  h  ive  found  our  current  again, 
and  plic(l  our  poles  like  heroes.  We  passe<l,  late  in  the  aftrrnoon,  the  spot  where  we 
hail  .it  Ihst  struck  the  creek,  and  wliere  lia>!  sluck  v\>  some  tree  lir.iinhcs  as  a  I.mthn.irk 
which  ini;;ht  aid  us  in  case  we  should  at  a  future  lime  attempt  to  s,\ve  the  Atl.mlic. 

When  ni^ht  came  on  we  ilid  not  stop,  hut  kept  the  raft  Ko'nt;  down  tliroii^^h  t!ie  shades 
«)f  awful  foiests,  whose  solemn  stillness  seemed  to  hide  from  us  the  unrevealed  niy>lery 
of  our  daikeniiifj  future.  During  the  morning  the  rain  had  ceased,  hut  ahout  10  o'clock 
at  night  it  commenced  again.  We  stopped  the  "  vessel,"  and  erawKd  in  under  s<inie 
"  tag  "  alders  on  the  hank,  where  our  extreme  wearini  ss  enaliled  us  to  get  jierh.ips  half 
an  hour's  sleep.  Ki-.ing  agani,  (for  it  was  easier  to  pole  the  rift  at  ni  ;;ht  in  I  lie  rain  down 
an  unknown  stream,  thin  to  lie  on  the  ground  and  free/e,)  we  prcs^ed  on  urilil  peili.ips 
3  in  the  morning,  when  jiure  exhaustion  compelled  us  to  stop  again.  This  time  we 
found  a  spot  \N  Jiere  the  clayey  hank  lacked  a  little  of  eoiuiMg  down  to  the  water.  On 
the  muci  w  I-  threw  our  little  hundle  of  straw,  and  sat  down  with  our  feet  drawn  up  under 
us,  so  as  to  present  as  little  surface  to  the  r.iin  as  possihle.  I'lit  we  could  noi  stand  .-.luh 
an  uncomfort.ilile  ])osition  long,  and  as  the  daylight  of  the  S.d)!)atli  hroke  upon  u-.,  we 
were  poling  down  the  stream  in  a  dri/./ling  rain.  At  8  o'clock  we  reached  a  spot  ai 
which  the  stream  narrowed,  rushing  over  large  lioulders,  an  i  hetween  rotky  shores,  '^lli^ 
was  troiihle  indecil.  To  get  our  raft  down  this  1)1. ee,  we  regirdecl  a-,  well  iiigh  hopeless. 
We  tied  up  ami  examined  the  shore.  Here,  again,  we  found  unmi>lakiMlile  miik^  left 
I'V  the  liimiiermen,  they  ha\iiig  evidently  camped  at  tliii  |i  .ml,  to  he  h  in^Iy  hy  in  tlu- 1  ilioi 
of  gelling  the  limlier  over  tliis  had  spot  in  the  stream.  The  rapids  were  aliout  a  thir  1  of 
a  mile  long,  and  in  all  the  rapids  ..  the  Schuylkill  there  are  none  so  wild  and  rom  ui!ii 
as  these.  After  a  protr.icled  surviy  we  desceiidi.'d  the  Innk,  and  thoughl  it  lie~.t  to  alian 
don  our  raft,  and  try  oer  luck  on  foot  again.  After  traveling  ahout  a  mile,  wo  fani  i  iliv 
hank  so  tangleii  ,ind  rugged,  and  ourselves  so  much  exhausted,  th  it  satisfactory  progre-- 
was  impo.-isil)Ie.  .So  we  concluded  to  go  hack,  and  if  we  ti'".Iil  get  the  raft  down,  even 
f)ne  piece  at  a  time,  we  would  go  on  w  ith  her — if  not,  we  woul  1  iaiild  as  good  .'.  place 
as  po>sd)le  to  shield  us  from  tl;e  rold  and  wit,  and  there  await  with  fortitude  that  deatli 
from  st.irvation  wdiich  was  beginning  to  look  too  prohible.  This  wis  our  third  dav  of 
eanu-t  l.ilior  and  distressing  fitigue,  and  in  all  that  time  we  had  not  ate  an  ounce  of 
food,  nor  had  chy  clothing  upon  us. 

Acting  upon  our  resolution  we  at  once  commenced  to  get  the  raft  down  the  rapids,  and 
T  freely  confess  this  the  most  trying  and  laborious  work  of  a  whole  life  of  l.ibor.  The 
(•ieces  would  not  lloat  over  a  rod  at  a  time,  before  they  would  stick  on  some  stone  which 
the  low  water  left  above  the  surface  ;  and  then  you  must  jiry  the  sti"kover  in  some  way, 
and  pass  it  along  to  the  next  obstruction.  We  were  obliged  to  get  into  the  streim,  often 
up  to  the  middle,  with  slippery  boulders  bene  ith  our  feet.  Se\er.il  times  I  fell  head 
long — eom[>letely  using  U]>  our  compass,  which  now  frantically  pointed  in  any  direction 
its  addled  head  took  a  fancy  to.  The  water  hid  unglued  the  cise,  and  it  was  ruined. 
After  Ion"  hours  of  such  labor,  we  got  the  raft  down,  and  LaMonntain  again  tied  it  t-i- 


la 


I.  \  JluUNTAlM    A-iLtlil' — AWOTMICU   IMJiV.  OL'TI-ET. 


fictlitr.  P.i<(siin(jon,  In  i^<^)\n  an  Ivi<ir  we  cimr  to  ,i  lar^c  I  <kc,  alioiit  lo  tnilt-s  |,.ti^,'  J>y  6 
iron.l.  Armii»(l  it  wc  must  oi'  ci.iirM;  pist,  until  wc  sIkmiI  I  |iii<|  iIk-  «losiri.il  ouiIlI.  Su 
we  tiirn«v|  up  to  tlir*  riijlit,  ami  jircviMl  .>n  witli  n-,  miicK  r.  v.lmi,,n  a«t  wc  cuiM  muster. 
Tod.iy  wo  fi)un  I  mic  (l.iin,  wliitli  1  iriMstfl  I, iMmiut.iiii  «ImiiM  cit,  a»  he  was  math 
weaker  tii,\n  nnsrlf,  ami  had  ate  u'  -iliiii,'  on  the  i\.\y  we  w<  nl  up. 

Fart  i)f  this  d.iy  LiM.unitain  slept  up.itilhe  raft,  and  I  wis  ••  K-Hsand  all  hands."  \% 
the  poor  fellow  lay  tlurc,  K.mpletely  iisrd  up,  I  sa  v  that  he  toul  I  tint  he  of  nui<  !i  more 
a-isistani'c  in  ^fiuw^  <uit.  F.rysipdas,  from  which  Ik  h  id  picviou-ly  sufliTcd,  had  attacked 
his  rij;ht  eye;  his  t.ue  was  shriveU-d  so  ihil  he  looked  hki-  an  nM  nun,  and  hi^  clothe* 
were  nearly  torn  from  his  body.  A  lew  te.irs  (  oiild  not  he  resinined,  and  my  pra)cr 
w.is  for  st.icily  deiiverame  or  speedy  death.  While  iiiycompmion  was  asleep,  ami  I 
hiisily  polin^;  the  r  ifl  alont;,  I  was  force  I  to  the  loiuhision,  after  delihcrately  (.invassinK 
all  the  chances,  that  we  were  pretty  sure  to  p.-rish  there  miseriMy  at  List,  llut  I  could 
not  tease  my  efforts  white  (io.l  ^Jlve  me  streii|^ih,  and  so  around  the  lake  we  went,  into 
all  the  indentatif.ns  of  the  shore,  keepin}»  aKvavs  in  shallow  water.  The  day  a!  last  wore 
away,  and  we  stopped  at  nifjht  at  a  pl.uc  we  thou^jht  least  exposed  to  the  wind.  We 
dra{,'Ked  the  end  of  our  raft  out  of  the  water,  and  l.iid  .lown  upon  th-,-  cold  ^,'roun  I.  We 
were  cohl  whc  i  we  l.iid  down,  and  both  of  us  treml'lcl  hy  the  hoiu,  like  men  Mill'ering 
fiom  a  severe  attack  of  the  aKue.  The  wind  hid  ruen  )Ust  at  nii.;tit,  and  the  dism.il 
surj-in^j  of  the  waves  upon  the  shore,  formed,  I  thought,  a  tittinj;  lullaby  to  slumbers  so 
(lisiiirbed  and  dismal  as  ours. 

liy  tiiis  time  our  clothes  were  neatly  torn  olT.  My  pint  doons  were  .slit  up  both  h'l^s, 
and  the  waistbands  nearly  ^^one.  My  boots  were  mere  wrecks,  and  our  iiii.dity  wicst 
linj,'s  in  the  rapids  had  torn  the  skin  from  ntikies  and  h.uirls.  I.aMnint.iin's  hat  had  ihs- 
ap|)eared  ;  the  lirst  day  out  he  had  tiirowii  away  his  woolen  drawer,  and  stoekiii^js,  as 
they  draL;^;ed  him  down  by  the  wei^dit  of  water  they  .ibsorbeil.  And  so  we  coe.ld  sleep 
but  little  ;  it  re.illy  seemed  as  th>u-l),  dnrini;  this  iii^ht,  wep.isscd  throUfjh  the  Imrrors 
of  death,  liut  at  daylif;ht  we  f;nt  up  by  de^jrees,  first  on  one  knee  and  then  on  iheother, 
so  stiff  and  weak  that  we  ccnild  h  inlly  st.md.  Ajjain  upon  tiie  silent,  monotonous  l.die 
we  went — followinij  r<amd  its  shore  for  an  outlet.  About  lo  o'clock  we  came  to  (piite  a 
broad  northern  stream,  which  we  ihoui^ht  was  the  outlet  we  witc  seel.ini;,  aiiil  w.tiitered 
it  with  joy,  bclieviiif^  it  would  take  us  to  our  loiij^-sou^ht  t)ituva.  .Shortly  aitiT  eiiteiiiij^ 
this  stre.im  it  widened  out,  and  be;;,in  t  >  appear  like  a  mere  lake.  We  poled  up  the 
westerly  shore  for  about  7  miles,  but  found  ourselves  atjiiii  deceived  as  to  the  outlet — 
the  water  we  were  upon  proving  to  be  another  l.d;e  or  b.iyoii.  We  had  >;one  into  this 
Like  with  the  hi^jhest  hopes,  but  when  we  found  that  all  the  weary  miles  of  our  morniiifj 
tra\cl  had  been  in  v.iin,  ami  hid  to  be  retraced,  my  resolution  cert.iinly  filled  iii''  fa  a 
moment,  and  I  felt  like  shedding;  one  tear  of  genuine  re;;it't.  ^'et  we  felt  tli.it  our  duty, 
as  Christian  men,  was  to  press  forward  as  long  as  we  could  stand,  and  leave  the  issue 
with  a  liij^her  Power. 

It  hail  now  been  four  full  <Liys  since  wc  ntc  a  meal.  .Ml  we  had  ale  in  the  nuMnlinie 
was  a  froj;  apiece,  four  cl.ims  and  a  few  wild  beriies,  wli  ise  acid  jiroperties  and  bitter 
taste  hid  probably  (lone  us  more  harm  tiian  Ljood.  Our  streii'^th  was  bei.;iniiiiij;  to  fiil 
very  fist,  and  in.-  systems  were  eviileiiily  underj^oinj;  an  extraordinary  chan^'o.  I  dul 
not  permit  myself  to  think  of  f.iod— :he  thout;ht  of  a  well  tilled  t.ible  would  have  been 
too  much.  My  mind  continually  dwelt  upon  poor  Strain's  &ufrerin!.^s  on  the  Isthmus  of 
Darien,  (then  l.itely  published  in  H.irper's  M.i'ji/ine.)  He,  too,  was  )ia<ldlin^  a  raft 
down  an  uiik...)wn  stream,  half  star\ed,  and  tilled  with  dreadful  forcbodiiij^'s.  I»ut  I  did 
not  belie\e  we  couM  hold  out  half  as  lont,'  as  he  hul.  He'  ides,  he  was  lost  in  a  tropical 
country,  where  all  nature  is  kiml  to  man  ;  he  h.ul  fire  arms  and  other  weapons  with 
which  to  kill  inline.  We  were  in  a  cold,  inhospitable  l.md,  without  arms,  ami  iit'.e.'ly 
unable  to  build  a  lire.  Slr.iin  wis  upon  a  stie.im  which  he  knew  would  eventually  bear 
him  to  the  sea  and  to  safety;  while  we  were  iijxin  waters  whose  flow  wc  jiositively knew 
nothing  about,  and  were  as  nuich  lost  as  thougii  in  the  mountains  of  the  inotm.  S'et  we 
could  not  give  it  up  so,  and  trie. I  to  summon  up  fresh  courage  as  troubles  appeared  to 
thicken  around  us.  So  we  turned  the  raft  around,  and  ])oIed  in  silence  back  towards  the 
place  where  we  had  cnteied  this  last  Like.  Wc  had  gone  about  a  mile  when  we  heard 
the  sound  of  a  gun,  quickly  followed  by  a  second  report.  No  sound  was  ever  so  sweet 
to  me  as  that.  W'e  halloed  as  loud  as  we  could,  a  good  many  times,  but  could  get  no 
response.     We  kept  our  poles  going  <iuite  lively,  and  had  gone  about  half  a  mile,  when 


\l 


I 


\l 


I 


SAVED  BY  CAMERON — GEOGRAPHY — LONG  TRIP. 


13 


\\ 


I  called  LaMountain's  attention  to  what  I  thought  was  smoke  cuiling  up  among  the  trees 
by  the  side  of  a  hill.  My  own  eyesight  had  begun  to  f.iil  very  much,  and  f  felt  afraid 
to  trust  my  dulled  senses  in  a  matter  so  vitally  important.  LaMountain  scrutinized  the 
shore  very  closely,  and  said  he  thought  it  was  smoke,  and  that  he  believed  there  was  also 
a  birch  canoe  on  the  shore  below.  In  a  few  moments  the  blue  smoke  rolled  unmis- 
takably above  the  tree  top^,  and  we  felt  that 

WE  WERE  SAVED  I 

Such  a  revulsion  of  feeling  was  almost  too  much  for  us.  We  could  hardly  credit  our 
good  fortune,  for  our  many  bitter  disappointments  had  taught  us  not  to  be  very  sanguine. 
With  the  ends  of  our  poles  we  paddled  the  raft  across  the  arm  of  the  lake,  here  ])crhaps 
three-fourths  of  a  mile  wide,  steering  for  the  canoe.  It  proved  to  be  a  large  one,  evi- 
dently an  Indian's.  Leaving  LaMountain  to  guard  and  retain  the  canoe  in  case  the  In- 
dian proved  timid  and  desired  to  escape  from  us,  I  pressed  hurriedly  up  the  bank,  follow- 
ing the  footsteps  I  saw  in  the  damp  soil,  and  soon  came  upon  the  temporary  shanty  of  a 
luml>ering  wood,  from  the  rude  chimney  of  which  a  broad  volume  of  smoke  was  rising. 
I  halloed — a  noise  was  heard  inside,  and  noble  looking  Indian  came  to  the  door.  I  ea- 
gerly asked  him  if  he  could  speak  French,  as  I  grasped  his  outstretched  hand.  "  Yes," 
he  replied,  "  and  English,  too  !"  He  drew  me  into  the  cabin,  and  there  I  saw  the  head 
of  the  party,  a  noble  hearted  Scotchman,  named  Angus  Cameron.  I  immediately  told 
my  story  ;  that  we  had  come  in  there  with  a  balloon,  were  lost,  and  had  been  over  four 
days  without  food — eagerly  d<;manding  to  know  where  we  were.  Imagine  my  surprise 
when  he  said  we  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  due  north  of  Ottawa,  near 
300  miles  from  Watertown,  to  reach  which  would  require  more  than  400  miles  of  travel, 
following  the  streams  and  roads.  We  were  in  a  wilderness  as  large  as  three  States  like 
Pennsylvania,  extending  from  Lake  Superior  on  the  west  to  the  St.  Lawrence  on  the 
east,  and  from  Ottawa  on  the  south,  to  the  Arctic  circle. 

The  party  consisted  of  four  persons — Cameron  and  his  assistant,  and  a  half-breed  In- 
dian (LaMab  McDougal)  and  his  son.  Their  savory  dinner  was  ready.  I  immediately 
dispatched  the  young  Indian  for  LaMountain,  who  soon  came  in,  the  absolute  picture  of 
wretchedness.  All  that  the  cabin  contained  was  freely  offered  us,  and  we  began  to 
EAT.  Language  is  inadequate  to  express  our  feelings.  Within  one  little  hour  all  the 
clouds  had  lifted  from  our  sombre  future,  and  we  felt  ourselves  to  be  men  once  more — 
no  longer  houseless  wanderers  amid  primeval  forests,  driven  by  chance  from  side  to  side, 
but  inspired  by  the  near  certainty  of  seeing  home  again  and  mingling  with  our  fellows 
in  the  busy  scenes  of  life. 

We  soon  learned  from  Cameron  that  the  stream  we  had  traversed  with  our  raft  is  called 
Filliman's  creek — the  large  lake  we  were  then  near  was  called  the  Bos-ke-tong,  and 
drains  into  the  Bosketong  river,  which  in  turn  drains  into  the  Gat-i-neau.  'ine  Gatineau 
joins  the  Ottawa  opposite  the  city  of  that  name,  now  the  seat  of  government  of  Canada. 
Cameron  assured  us  thnt  the  Bosketong  and  Gatineau  were  so  rapid  and  broken  that  no 
set  of  men  could  get  a  raft  down,  no  matter  how  well  they  knew  the  country,  nor  how 
many  provisions  they  might  have.  He  regarded  our  deliverance  as  purely  providential, 
and  many  times  remarked  that  we  would  certainly  have  perished  but  for  seeing  the  smoke 
from  his  fire.  He  was  hunting  timber  for  his  employers,  Gilmour  &  Co.,  of  Ottawa,  and 
was  to  start  in  two  days  down  the  Gatineau  for  his  headquarters  at  Desert.  If  we  would 
stay  there  until  he  started,  we  were  welcome,  he  said,  to  food  and  accommocl.iticms,  and 
he  would  take  us  down  to  Desert  in  his  canoe,  and  at  that  point  we  could  get  Indians  to 
take  us  farther  on.  He  also  said  that  he  had  intended  to  look  for  timber  on  Filliman's 
creek,  near  svhere  the  balloon  would  be  found,  as  near  as  we  could  describe  the  locality 
to  him,  and  would  try  to  look  it  up  and  make  the  attempt  to  get  it  to  Ottawa.  This 
would  be  a  long  and  tedious  operation,  as  the  fiortages  are  very  numerous  between  the 
creek  and  Desert — something  over  20 — one  of  them  three  miles  long.  Over  these  port- 
sges  of  course  the  'ilk  must  be  carried  on  the  backs  of  Indians. 

After  eating  all  I  dared  to,  and  duly  cautioning  LaMountain  not  to  hurt  himself  by 
over-indulgence,  I  laid  down  to  sleep.  Before  doing  so,  I  had  one  of  the  men  remove 
my  boots,  and,  when  they  came  oflf,  nearly  the  whole  outer  skin  peeled  off  with  the  stock- 
ings. My  feet  had  l>ecome  parboiled  by  the  continual  soakings  of  four  days  and  nights, 
and  it  was  fully  three  months  before  they  were  cured. 


i 


14 


START    FOR    HOME — DESERT — LA  MAB's    WIFE. 


After  finishinR  up  his  business  in  the  vicinity  where  we  found  him,  on  Friday  morning 
(our  ninth  day  from  home)  Cameron  started  on  his  return.  We  stopped,  on  our  way  up 
the  creelt,  at  the  snot  where  we  had  erected  our  landmark  by  which  to  find  the  balloon. 
We  struck  back  for  the  place,  and  in  aUmt  20  minutes  found  her,  impaled  on  the  tops  of 
four  smallish  spruce  trees,  and  very  much  torn.  LaMountain  concluded  to  abandon  her. 
He  took  the  valve  as  a  memento,  and  I  cut  out  the  letters  "TIC,"  which  had  formed 
part  of  her  name,  and  brouijht  it  home  with  me.  We  reached  what  is  known  as  the 
"  New  Farm  "  on  Friday  nif^ht,  and  there  ended  our  sleeping  on  the  ground.  Up  by 
early  dawki,  and  on  again,  through  the  drenching  rain,  reaching  Desert  on  Saturday  eve- 
ning. 

At  Desen  we  were  a  good  deal  troubled  to  obtain  Indians  to  .ake  us  further  on.  La- 
Mab  McDougal  had  told  hi>  wife  about  the  balloon,  and  she  being  superstitious  and  ig- 
norant, had  gossipped  with  the  other  S(iuaws,  and  told  them  the  balloon  was  a  "  flying 
devil."  As  we  had  traveled  in  this  flying  devil,  it  did  not  reciuire  much  of  a  stretch  of 
Indian  credulity  to  believe  that  if  we  were  not  the  Devil's  children,  we  must  at  least  be 
closely  related.  In  this  extremity  we  appealed  to  Mr.  John  Backus*,  a  kind-hearted 
American  trader,  who  agreed  to  procure  us  a  complement  of  red  skins,  who  would  take 
us  to  Alexis  le  Beau's  place,  (60  miles  down  the  river,)  where  it  was  thought  we  could 
obtain  horses.  Sund.ay  morning  (our  eleventh  day  from  home)  we  started  fro.n  Desert, 
and  re.iched  Alexis  le  Beau's  just  at  night.  The  scenery  upon  this  part  of  our  route  was 
sublime  and  imjxjsing.  The  primeval  forest  stood  as  grand  and  silent  as  when  created. 
Our  Indians,  too,  surpassed  anything  I  ever  beheld  in  physical  vigor  and  endurance.  In 
the  d.ay's  run  of  60  miles  there  were  16  port.nges  to  be  made.  On  reaching  one  of  these 
places,  they  would  seize  the  canoe  as  quick  as  we  stepped  out  of  it,  jerk  it  out  of  the 
water  and  on  to  their  shoulders  in  half  a  minute,  and  start  upon  a  dog  trot  as  uncon- 
cernedly as  though  bearing  no  burthen.  Arriving  at  the  foot  of  the  portage,  they  would 
toss  the  canoe  into  the  stream,  steady  it  until  we  were  seated,  then  spring  in  and  paddle 
away,  gliding  down  the  stream  like  an  arrow.  In  the  morning  we  traveled  15  miles  and 
made  7  portages  in  I  hour  and  40  minutes. 

At  Alexis  le  Beau's  we  first  beheld  a  vehicle  denominated  a  "  buckboard  " — a  wide, 
thick  plank  reaching  from  one  bolster  of  the  wafon  to  the  other,  and  upon  the  middle  of 
whitn  plank  the  seat  w.is  placed.  This  sort  of  conveyance  is  often  used  in  new  coun- 
tries, being  very  cheap,  and  within  the  reach  of  ordinary  mechanical  skill.  Starting  off 
as  soon  as  we  could  get  something  to  eat,  we  traveled  all  night  through  the  forest,  over 
one  of  the  worst  roads  ever  left  unfinished,  and  reached  Brooks'  farm,  a  sort  of  frontier 
tavern,  in  the  early  morning,  where  we  slept  a  couple  of  hours,  and  after  breakfast  pressed 
on  by  the  rough  frontier  stage  towards  Ottawa. 

While  the  stage  was  stopping  to-day  to  change  horses,  I  picked  up  a  newspaper  at  Her 
Britannic  Majesty's  colonial  frontier  post-oflice,  and  in  it  read  an  account  of  our  ascen- 
sion and  positive  loss,  with  a  rather  flattering  obituary  notice  of  myself.  And  then,  for 
the  first  time,  I  began  to  comprehend  the  degree  of  concern  our  protracted  absence  had 
aroused  in  the  public  mind.  And  if  the  public  felt  this  concern,  wliat  would  be  the  de- 
gree of  pain  experienced  by  wife,  children,  parents,  friends?  These  reflections  spurred 
us  forward — or,  rather,  our  money  induced  the  drivers  to  hurry  up  their  horses — and  at 
last,  on  the  twelfih  day  of  our  absence,  at  about  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  we  jumped  off 
the  stage  in  front  of  the  telegraph  office  in  the  good  city  of  Ottawa,  whence,  in  less  than 
five  minutes,  the  swift  lightning  was  speeding  a  mess.age  to  wife  and  friends.  Ah,  th.at 
was  a  happy  moment — the  happiest  of  all  my  life — when  I  knew  that  within  30  minutes 
my  family  would  know  of  my  safety. 

I  do  not  know  how  the  people  of  Ottawa  so  soon  found  out  who  we  were — but  sup- 
pose the  telegraph  operator  peniaps  told  some  one  ;  that  "  some  one  "  must  have  told 
the  whole  town,  for  in  less  th.in  half  an  hour  there  was  a  tearing,  excited,  happy,  inquisi- 
tive mass  of  people  in  front  of  the  grand  hotel  there — the  clerk  of  which,  when  he  looked 

'''.''iiiiiotliinj;  ()iiife  onrioiiH  grew  out  iif  my  nitmiiif;  Mr.  John  llackiMaslmviiigBssistelusiit  llieraoutli 
of  till'  DesiMt  livur.  My  Hi'i'oiiiit  wiii  ^piuTully  |)iilili§lmil  tliroii);lioiit  tlie  country,  ami  notiio  ten  diiyii 
nrtur  our  return  I  rpceuc-il  u  lulter  I  mm  a  litcly  in  Veimoiit  iiskiuK  me  toile-friliu  tolivr  tlio  iimii  l)it<'k)is. 
M  tliiit  wu»  llie  nailin  ot  Iht  long-aliNi-nt  Hon,  wtio,  twenty  yean  berorn,  had  di:<np|io:iroil  from  home,  and 
never  arterw.inU  liern  licinl  fr  ni.  I  auMwored  tlie  letter  inimoflialely,  ami  tcon  iifter  liiiriiod  lliat  tho 
miin  proved  to  be  lier  hoii,  and  lliat  he  hiul  promiBod  to  mme  home  «n  a  vKit.  Wluit  hMd  driven  him 
awiiv  I'niin  civiliziiliun  to  live  nnioiiK  the  Imliaim.  was  be^t  'iuown  to  hiniHeir.  nut  a  man  uf  bin  ^ouvr- 
o\is  ini|iulnes  niiglit  have  been  au  uruamout  to  sueioty,  and  u  bleHiiue  tu  bis  rrieudK. 


GLOklOUS   OTTAWA — OGUUNsBL'KCill — UATEKTuWN — IKLMK. 


i; 


at  our  rcif^fjcd  clothes  and  licarded  faces,  at  fir^t  thought  lie  "luichi't  a  sinj^lc  room  left,"  hut 
who,  wlifii  he  round  out  th.it  we  were  the  loil  b.iUoon  men,  \vant^<l  us  to  liavc  tlie  wlidle 
hotel,  free  rnd  above  hoard  ;  and  had  lea,  and  supper,  and  luncii,  and  "ju-.t  a  little 
private  supper,  you  know  !"  following  each  other  in  rapi<l  yet  mo>t  acceptable  succession. 
The  happy  crowd  in  the  hotel  and  upon  the  street  were  deternnn.'d  to  shako  hands  u  iih 
us  every  one,  and  nearly  all  wanted  to  give  or  loan  us  money.  Pretty  soon  the  news- 
paper men  and  some  personal  accjuaintances  be!.;an  to  press  through  tlie  crowd,  and  soim; 
cried  while  others  laughed  and  huzzaed.  Indeed  every  one  acted  as  if  lliey  had  just 
"  found  something  !"  And  such  is  human  nature  always,  when  its  noble  sympathies  are 
aroused  for  the  suffering  or  dii^tressed. 

Although  the  president  of  the  Ottawa  and  Prescot  Railroad,  (Robert  Bell,  Esq.,)  vol- 
unteered to  send  us  on  by  a  special  engine  that  night,  we  thought  it  best  (inasmuch  as 
our  friends  hail  been  informed  of  our  safety),  to  st.iy  at  (    tawa  until  morning.   It  did  seem 
as  though  the  generous  people  of  that  city  could  not  d>  enough  for  us,  ani.l  their  kind  at 
tention  and  disinterested  enthusiasm  will  never  be  forgotten. 

Well,  the  next  morning  we  left  Ottawa,  and  were  ([uickly  carried  to  Prescot;  thence 
across  the  St.  Lawrence  river  to  Ogdensburgh.  Here  a  repetition  of  the  same  friendly 
greetings  took  place,  and  at  Inst,  after  a  hearty  dinner,  we  left  fijr  home,  now  distant  only 
75  miles  by  rail.  All  along  the  line  of  the  road  we  found  enthusiastic  crowds  awaiting 
our  coming,  and  all  seemed  to  exhibit  unmistakable  evidence  of  the  deep  interest  felt 
in  our  fate.  At  Watertown,  which  had  been  my  home  from  boyhood,  the  enthusiasm  \u\d 
reached  fever  heat,  and  the  whole  town  were  out  to  greet  the  returning  ;eronauts.  They 
had  out  the  old  camion  on  the  public  sipiare,  and  it  belchetl  forth  the  loudest  kind  of  a 
welcome.  My  family  had  of  course  suil'ered  deeply  by  my  al»ence.  Every  body  had 
given  us  up  for  dead  except  my  wife.  I  felt  very  cheap  about  the  whole  thing,  and  was 
quite  certain  that  I  had  done  a  very  foolish  act.  Not  so  the  jvople — they  thought  it  a 
big  thing  to  have  gone  through  with  so  much,  and  yet  come  out  alive. 


Several  general  conclusions  and  remarks  shall  terminate  this  narrative,  already  too 
long.  "\Vhy  did  you  jiermit  yourselves  to  go  so  far?"  will  naturally  be  asked.  To  thi-< 
intjuiry  I  reply :  that  the  wind  was  exceetlingly  light  when  we  ascended  ;  that  we  were 
very  soon  among  the  clouds,  and  conseijuently  unable  to  take  cognizance  of  i)ur  course, 
or  to  judge  how  fast  we  were  traveling.  It  should  be  distinctly  understood  that  when 
you  are  sailing  in  a  balloon,  you  are  unconscious  of  motion  and  progress,  unless  you  can 
see  the  earth.  Even  when  you  first  leave  the  earth,  you  seem  to  be  stationary,  wiiile  the 
earth  appears  to  drop  away  from  you.  Nor  can  you,  when  out  of  sight  of  the  earth,  al- 
though you  may  have  a  compass,  judge  of  the  direction  you  are  traveling,  if  traveling  at 
all.  In  few  words,  unless  you  can  see  the  earth,  you  cannot  tell  how  fust  nor  in  nhai 
direction  you  are  traveling.  This,  perhaps,  better  than  anything  else,  will  explain  wiiy 
we  unconsciously  drifted  off  to  latitudes  so  remote.  When  we  rose  above  the  thick  ma.-..-. 
of  clouds,  before  sundown,  we  undoubtedly  struck  a  rapid  current  that  carried  us  north- 
east, and  after  we  had  traveled  in  this  current  about  an  hour,  we  probably  struck  an- 
other current,  from  the  variation  of  our  altitude,  which  bore  us  off  to  the  northwest,  for 
the  place  where  we  landed  is  about  30  miles  west  of  due  north  from  where  went  up. 

When  we  first  descended  to  near  the  earth,  and  saw  lights  and  he.ird  doi^s  barking,  (p. 
6,)  we  she)uld  have  landed.  But  we  were  unwilling  to  land  at  night  in  a  deep  wood, 
ever»though  we  knew  that  inhabitants  were  near  by,  and  we  thought  it  best  to  pick  out 
a  better  place.  This  was  our  error ;  and  it  came  near  being  a  fatal  one  to  us — it  was 
certainly  so  to  the  balloon.  In  trying  to  find  our  "  better  place  "  to  land,  we  were  uj) 
longer  than  we  supposed,  and  as  we  were  traveling  in  a  current  that  bore  us  off  to  the 
northward  at  the  rate  of  loo  miles  an  hour,  we  soon  reached  a  point  beyond  the  confines 
of  civilization. 

Jno.  a.  Hauuuck. 


i 


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«'!.\f 


i'l|'''ililfi|i|i' 


1 


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